FOOD ALLERGIES A Parent’s Perspective by Kimberley Madden-Snoad

Finding Out 0-6 months: Breastfed but -Widespread eczema requiring moisturiser 5 x daily. 6 months: serious reaction to baby museli containing milk powder Specialist diagnosed milk and egg allergy; advised to delay introducing wheat until one year of age, and peanuts until three years.

More Allergies One to two years of age: Reacted to kiwifruit, walnuts and peas Mainly skin reactions (hives) but swollen tongue in one reaction indicated risk of anaphylaxis Specialist prescribed an EpiPen. These cost $135 each and we need two at all times.

Ongoing Specialist Tests Confirmed list of 5 food allergies: Cows Milk (Dairy), Eggs, Tree nuts, Kiwifruit and Peas. Peanut allergy cleared through a food- challenge.* Specialist check up at least once a year. *Hasn’t made food more accessible as most labels with ‘may contain traces of peanuts’ also contain traces of tree nuts and/or dairy.

Managing Food Allergies Had to learn to bake at home as ‘allergy- friendly’ biscuits etc are expensive and hard to find; Meals have to be prepared from scratch because most processed foods (e.g. pre- prepared sauces) either contain or warn of potential contamination of allergens. Share recipes through Allergy New Zealand and our local support group. Probably eat healthier foods as a result!!

Shopping for Safe Food Takes at least 20% more time than normal Have to read every label every time: - allergens previously not listed on a product can suddenly appear on the label; - ingredients added to a product we have used safely in the past. Not checking the label every time could put my daughter at risk

Warning Statements Many FA consumers believe ‘may contain’ warnings are more about food manufacturers avoiding legal liability; We follow Allergy New Zealand’s advice to always heed warnings, even though it really limits our choices; I never buy a product with ‘may contain’ but I assume a product labelled ‘ made in a factory where..’ is less risk than ‘made on a line where…’ – but this may not be correct.

Contacting Manufacturers E.g. All brands of pasta seem to have warning statements, so I have had to ring manufacturers for information to try and assess the risk; Manufacturers not always helpful e.g. refusing to say whether a product was made on the same line as another product containing nuts.

Plain words Have noticed that labels now tend to list allergens in their common English terms. This makes it much easier to read and understand labels. However a Garlic Bread bought recently had ‘whey powder’ instead of dairy. This could have been a serious problem because it was a relative who bought it thinking it was safe for my daughter.

Family Diet Whole family is excluded from eggs, tree nuts, peas and kiwifruit; Dairy is allowed on basis of: - replaceable with soy products for my daughter e.g. yoghurt or ice-cream - strict hand-washing rules apply even to my 3½ year old. In spite of strict precautions my daughter had two severe reactions last year probably from a trace of dairy. Both required going to A & E.

Eating out My daughter needs to learn how to eat out safely Very stressful because of the number of food allergies she has but is really unavoidable Other parents say staff often don’t seem to understand the importance of providing accurate information

Current Challenges School: i) Being able to avoid the allergens concerned and not have a reaction ii) Emergency response in case of a reaction. Medical services: i) Need at least yearly check-ups with an Allergy Specialist ii) Cost of the EpiPen (on top of all the other expenses involved) Long Term: Our specialist advises it is unlikely she will outgrow any of her allergies so she will probably have to cope with them for life unless a cure is found.